Wellington Phoenix’s second goal in their 2-2 draw with Melbourne Heart was as a result of manager Ernie Merrick’s bold decision. After being reduced to 10 men after 33 minutes, Merrick kept two players high up the pitch in order to counter attack and go for the win. As it was, the points were shared but Merrick’s decision resulted in an important goal for Tyler Boyd to put the Phoenix in front in the second half.

Starting the match in their familiar 4-4-2 diamond formation, Stein Huysegems was the player tasked with operating in between the lines. He was also responsible for occupying Jonatan Germano (Heart’s deepest midfielder) when the Phoenix did not have possession.

Wellington Phoenix's starting shape

This allowed Wellington to have players in advanced positions and they were dangerous on the counter attack in the early stages of the match – Krishna’s fifth minute goal was a demonstration of that.

However, when reduced to 10 men and the score at 1-1, Merrick had the dilemma of either sitting back and playing for a draw or keeping men forward to try and snatch a win. Since a draw would not have helped either side, Merrick decided to go for the win. Speaking post game, Merrick described the response to the red card, with the reward of three points at the forefront of his decision.

“We were determined to get the win as well,” Merrick said. “When we did go down to 10 men, I could have [changed to a] 4-4-1 but I didn’t. I went with a 4-3-2 and young Tyler [Boyd] up front with Roy Krishna was causing a fair amount of problems and that is where the second goal came from.”

As Merrick stated, the response was to play with a 4-3-2 formation, with two forwards staying high up the pitch to create counter attacking opportunities. Huysegems in the ‘Number 10’ role was sacrificed which allowed Matthew Ridenton to take up a position in midfield.

Wellington’s response to the red card

By leaving Krishna and Boyd forward, Wellington were able to threaten the fullbacks of Melbourne Heart. This was evident with Tyler Boyd’s goal in the 55th minute.

Wellington’s second goal, where the two forwards combined and exploited spaces behind the fullbacks on the counter attack

After picking the ball up in transition, Boyd was able to move inside the right-back Jason Hoffman. As he was doing this, Krishna pulled wide to open up space in behind Ben Garuccio at left-back. Boyd’s diagonal pass was inch perfect and allowed Krishna to have a 1 v 1 situation up against Garuccio on the edge of the box. Krishna was able to beat his man and put the ball into the box. Boyd, who had sprinted forward to get into the box was able to reach the parry from goalkeeper Andrew Redmayne and finish.

As it was, Heart equalised from the penalty spot and neither side was able to score a winning goal. Heart dominated possession after the sending off and created a number of chances but Wellington still had some threatening moments. The decision to leave two men high up the pitch was a bold decision by Merrick as Wellington looked to pinch all three points and whilst it did not fully pay off, it did result in the second goal.

Sign up for the Guardian Today

Our editors' picks for the day's top news and commentary delivered to your inbox each morning.